OK, DON'T GO CRAZY AND CANCEL THE BBQ BECAUSE IT'S ONLY A RUMOR: Could KGO Radio be For Sale?Cumulus is shedding inventory --some of it, prized assets, or what used to be prized assets a long time ago as they begin to implement their operating capital after Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
KGO has 50,000 watts and a prime dial position but has been systematically wrecked and has turned into a radio shlock house; but it has a valuable signal and could be morphed into something unique as an AM radio stalwart.
Or not.
In the meantime, stop and consider.
Yeah! Maybe some of the old KGO staff can gather up some funds and buy the station. Maybe start a K GO fund me page.
ReplyDeleteCan we get Micky back?
ReplyDeleteMake me a deal and throw in a full power FM on a desirable freq.
ReplyDeleteOr give me KGO, WABC and KABC in the deal.
KGO is a transmitter,IP and a few Marti's.
...and an 8 channel radio shack mixing board...with 1/4 inch phono plugs.
Oh, I hope so. Maybe a Disney buyback and a trade for Trixie?
ReplyDeleteIf the trade for Trixie they'll need a stable of lawyers!
DeleteStations are ALWAYS for sale - at the right price, whether they are listed or not. The ABC Radio division was to Citadel because Citadel approached Disney and offered twice what all of the properties were worth. So if you have a group of stations that have a liberal value of $5 Billion and someone comes along and offers you $10 Billion, you say show me the money and we can close this deal quickly. In other words, believe this when you actually see it.
ReplyDeleteYeah I agree if Cumulus did a package deal involving KGO, WABC, KABC and WLS (all once ABC radio O and O) with Disney it makes more sense than Disney buying 21st Century Fox...
ReplyDeleteRich, a crazy suggestion for the A’s. The Game isn’t airing all their games at 95.7 fm anymore. I found today’s game at 1550 am. Neither station has a strong enough signal to reach the entire market. So here’s a suggestion for the A’s. Knock on some doors and see if you can put the games on one of three stations with strong signals — 860 am, 610 am or 1100 am. The 860 station is airing all satellite-fed programs. The A’s could sell the spots on their games and kick back a portion of what they make to pay for the air time. It’s got to be more money than they’re making with those national shows. If they don’t jump at it, go to the two religious broadcasters (610 or 1100) and explain to them that baseball doesn’t conflict with the Gospel and the money can be used to strengthen their ministry. It might be enough to pay all their expenses for running a radio station — a God send for them. If they don’t want alcohol ads, that shouldn’t be a deal breaker. Plenty of other advertisers out there like car dealers and hair replacement doctors. And if people started praying for the A’s, it could help the team get into the playoffs. But I’m not joking. The A’s are probably the only MLB team that can’t be heard in their entire market, so they need to do some out of the box thinking.
ReplyDeleteWe already tried that...but the whole Pete Rose thing soured them on the deal.
DeleteDang Fundies!
Your religious station idea has merit and history I seem to recall either religious KDIA or KDYA ran some Spanish language A's games a while back. I'm sure logistics and revenue would have to be seriously considered. It would provide exposure to an audience that might not know about them, but would the audience stay? And which of the plethora of programming would the station promote?
DeleteJust like back in the day when San Francisco Bay had ferry boats. They got rid of the ferry boats when the bridges were built. Now they can't build the ferry boats fast enough to take care of all the commuters. So that kind of ruins your point...
DeleteThis is AM radio folks. The demographics are terrible and growing worse as the prime audience dies off. Why would a 21st century corporation think it's the future? It's like Henry Ford in the 1920's saying it's time to buy all the blacksmiths in the nation making horse shoes!
ReplyDeleteMore People are aging INTO the 55+ demo...so expect FOX news to thrive for the next 20 or so years...or until all the boomers die off.
DeletePrime audience diminishing...I wonder if it could be because 44% of CA families no longer speak English at home. Just 44%, nothing to worry about, order yourself a pizza!
DeleteThe "Golden State" is long gone, we are now an outpost for the "Third World," don't worry.
Did I hear that right, 70% of tech workers in Silicon Valley are foreign born. No need to worry.
Sorry this was for:
DeleteAnonymous May 27, 2018 at 6.58 AM not 10:44 AM.
Just like back in the day when San Francisco Bay had ferry boats. They got rid of the ferry boats when the bridges were built. Now they can't build the ferry boats fast enough to take care of all the commuters. So that kind of ruins your point...
What do ferry boats have to do with radio demographics? Commuters still have to get to work so switching choices between ferry boats and bridges deals with the same, but a larger population over the year, groups. Some cars today don't even come with AM radios. Millennials don't listen to oldies, conservative old fogies, and traffic every 10 minutes. Next you'll say everyone will get tired of their personal screens and people will start subscribing to newspaper home deliveries again! Bring back paper routes! Of course AM radio won't go completely away. Neither will newspapers or blacksmiths. But that doesn't mean investing in these endeavors is economically wise or profitable.
DeleteKGO Radio broadcasting at 50,000 watts?
ReplyDeleteHummmm...
Maybe once they clean up the corrosion at the antennas...and fix the transmitter properly...they might be able to get 50,000 watts out of that transmitter.
I dare KGO to go do a field strength reading on that transmitter...before the FCC finds out the "secret".
this Crowley guy has become an ''instant baggarly''. he already sounds like a Giants expert. he can be a beggarly type with no expectations and the ''Extra BAGGage'' of being an established guy like baggs.
ReplyDeletea non expert could write a first sentence or paragraph of a sports game. then the expert could finish the details--- like the warriors game- ''It Isn't Inevitable that the Warriors will win this Series.but for a Night this Dream still seems possible''. ---that's your fantasy sports page story- a non expert could write a beginning if they follow sports carefully. you are a connor monsieur.
ReplyDeletewhy read the athletic when bruce Jenkins is for free. Confucius say *((*))*
ReplyDeleteKGO's Value is nothing. Their biggest issue is they didn't own the property the signal was based on, and were renters. That's the only value Cumulus could have gained from those overpriced signals.
ReplyDeletejust want the ryan scott "show" gone forever
ReplyDeleteI wanted to roast some weenies today...but everyone at KGO had the day off.
ReplyDeleteRich, if your hope is that a White Knight buys KGO and brings back a robust local news-talk format, it’s not going to work without an FM station too. People under 40 have never bothered to listen to AM radio. Take a ride with somebody in their 20s or 30s. Check their car radio. You’ll discover that they haven’t preset any of their AM buttons. They’re still on the factory default frequencies.
ReplyDeleteEven with an AM-FM combo, it will be a long haul getting the kind of ratings to get advertisers and agencies to notice. KGO could do a lot of local programming back in the day because they were grossing $30 million a year. It will take a long time to reach that number.
The reality is that KGO, if it is sold, will be bought by somebody doing nationally syndicated programming 24/7, spending nothing on local hosts or news. Or it might make sense to flip to Spanish. But the days of news talk the way you remember it are never coming back. Nobody is going to waste their money on a revival of that format because it won’t be profitable.
Hell, I'm 55 and have only tuned into AM in an emergency since Dr. Don retired...
DeleteI loved KGO yrs ago, used every means necessary to get a good signal down here in So. Calif. (Thanks to C Crane). Now of course I can stream KGO on my WiFi Radio through my Stereo. However, when KGO laid off their 5star staff I haven't and won't listen to KGO. I hate to say it, as a former radio dj back in the late 50's early 60's, AM Radio is a dying breed and I feel that Cumulus helped move it along. KGO, KABC and WABC have absolutely nothing to offer anymore.
ReplyDelete